


Ravens Don't Like Change

by Silveriss



Series: Our World in Colors [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coloring, And there are human/animal hybrids, Cat on person violence, Europe, Everything changes color with Fall, F/F, Inspired by a prompt on Tumblr, Minor Injuries, Mons, Nonbinary Character, One-Shot, POV Third Person, Sapphism, Short, The year is 2022, Trans Female Character, and a cat, and books, and plants, belgium - Freeform, bird/human hybrid, fuff, just gay fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-03 17:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14573613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silveriss/pseuds/Silveriss
Summary: In a world where everything that isn't alive changes color with the leaves of the trees, a salty girl with a bright yellow beak, bright yellow circles around her eyes and black feathers sprouting from random parts of her body has an unexpected meeting with a cat gone berserk in a park.Turns out the cat has an owner, and a very caring one at that.





	Ravens Don't Like Change

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!  
> This little story was inspired by a prompt on tumblr, and grew into something bigger. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.  
> I read the whole wikipedia article on common blackbirds for this.

It was that time of the year when everything turned all kinds of different shades of red. From brown to yellow, orange to purple, the world went wild and unleashed some secret fireworks of color it kept hidden for the 9 other months of the year. Corb looked away from the clementine orange of the concrete and to the sky. The clouds looked like blood-soaked cotton. The rain was coming, and it wasn't going to be pretty - the whole city was going to turn into an apocalyptic movie setting.

Corb snorted as she remembered the first year of the Coloring and all these people who had started claiming that it was the beginning of the End of Time, that the Final Judgement was finally happening and that every sinner was going to pay for all their misconducts. Although time had proved them wrong, some fanatics still persisted in their grand theories. They were just a bunch of fools. As if change in the ordeal of the world could not come without bringing its end. Corb and her kind had been the living proof that this was all bullshit for decades, but humans had preferred to pretend not to see the obvious when it was right in front of them. And now that it was impacting their own world, they were distraught? They had had years of warnings that they could have used to prepare, if only they hadn't been so busy sweeping every single hint under the rug.

Corb's mood got bitter. She scratched the scarred skin at the base of her bright yellow bill and looked back to the ground. Still orange, going on yellow. The constant morphing of the colors between seasons tired her. She could glance at a building and see it brown, two seconds later it had already changed to a gold speckled green. Sure, it was pretty the first couple of days, but in the long run it was just exhausting for her brain to process. She really wasn’t a big fan of forced adaptation. She’d had enough moving around in her younger years, thank you very much.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she took it out, putting it back in as soon as she'd seen what it was. She kicked the yellow dust of the path. If Bel seriously thought that Corb was going to answer, they were going to be very disappointed.

Corb paused, and looked around. The park was unsurprisingly quiet. Nobody with a functioning mind would decide to take out their kids or go for a run when the sky looked like the promise of a blood bath. Corb herself was only taking the path as a shortcut, not because she wanted to actually take a walk.

She adjusted her bag's slings and resumed walking. She didn't know when exactly the sky would tear itself apart but she felt it was going to be soon, and she'd much rather be inside when the red shower would pour down.

She'd only taken a few steps when a ball of orange fur swooped on her, claws out and fangs furious. Corb lost balance in a storm of wild yowls and yelled curses, trying to keep the cat at distance from her face to the detriment of her arms and hands, struggling to throw the beast away; she only succeeded after it’d hurt itself on her bill. Seemingly calmed down, the cat didn't attack again, and Corb sagged down on the ground. She breathed a sigh of relief, promptly followed by a string of exasperated swear words. More were hissed when she hauled her arms above her head to examine the damage.

"Little fucker didn't miss me, shit. Fucking hurts", she mumbled as she rose to her feet. It was only the that she became aware of the footsteps hurrying towards where she stood. Startled and still in shock from the assault, she quickly turned to the origin of the noise, ready to flee. The sight she was confronted with achieved to disconcert her completely. A panicked young person, most likely human, was running towards her, short pastel pink hair, brown skin, flowery crop tank top, blue sarouel, and what looked like a huge rainbow umbrella in their left hand. Corb took a step back. The probably-human shouted: "GUTS!", and Corb took two steps back. "GUTS! COME BACK HERE, GUTS!"

They were beginning to come really close really fast, and Corb was very seriously considering running away when, suddenly, the cat, who until then had been wandering in circles a couple meters away, bolted. It happened so fast and so unexpectedly that despite Corb's inhumanly sharp sight, she could only catch a flash of ginger fur before it was already landing in the probably-human's arms.

"Guts, you little monster, you have to stop running off like that!", they scolded the cat with a small tap on the top of its head. Corb could only stare, utterly dumbfounded. Her brain had given up. Too little energy left to process. It'd switched to battery saving mode.

After some more scolding that Corb didn't bother hearing, the probably-human looked up to her. Corb didn't care. They took a careful step forward. Corb clicked her beak angrily.

"Hm-", they started, at the exact same time the sky decided to break open.

Corb tilted her head towards the bloody clouds and sighed, ripples and ripples of red cascading along the mounts and valleys of her skin.

"Bloody shitty day," she mumbled to herself. The probably-human made no comment, but took a couple more steps forward; the sky was soon replaced by the colorful fabric of a giant rainbow umbrella. Corb looked down to the probably-human. They were searching for her eyes, an expression of apologetic worry on their face.

"Are you okay?" they asked. "My cat didn't attack you, I hope?"

She was so done with this fucking day.

"I don't know, what do you _think_?!" She snapped at the stranger, putting her bleeding arms right under their nose. It would have made her laugh, the horrified gasp they let out and the way their eyes instantly doubled size, had Corb not been having one of her worst days since her moving into Mons. She quickly pulled her arms away before the beast could have another go at it. "What the fuck kind of monster is your cat, huh?" She practically shouted, making the probably-human flinch. They looked devastated.

"I- I'm so sorry, I... he ran out by the window about an hour ago, and..." they were frantic now, gaze running everywhere but never meeting her eyes, "I immediately noticed, and I went after him, but- he's so fast... I lost him," they sighed. Corb was going to tell them what she thought about letting over-aggressive cats run away when they breathed in and continued, much calmer. "I was going to give up and wait for him to come back on his own when I saw him running through the park. He's always been... More aggressive than average, but never like that. Not with people. I'm sorry." They were staring at each other now, and Corb was getting more and more irritated by the fact that she had to tilt her chin up to do so. "I am sorry," they repeated and, as strange as it may seem, Corb believed them. Something in their voice, or maybe in the way they were looking, unwavering, right into her yellow-circled, pitch black eyes, was true enough to make her believe a complete stranger's apology.

She sighed her exasperation out.

She swallowed her anger back.

(Reluctantly.)

"It's fine," she mumbled, rubbing circles into her pulsating temples. _Icarus_ , her skull felt like it was ready to explode.

"Do you-" She slapped the hand away from her dripping forearm.

"I said it's fine!" she hissed.

The dumbass seemed to have trouble understanding French, though, because they were opening their mouth again.

"I can help you treat your arms."

Corb blinked. "...What?"

"I'm a medicine student, I can help you treat your arm."

"And why would you do that?" she asked, on her guard.

It was the stranger's turn to be taken aback. "Wh- To make it up to you, of course. It's my fault your arms are in this state."

Corb crossed her arms, scowling. "And I should trust you because...?"

They shrugged. "Because I have no reason to harm you?"

Corb stared at them, at the brown disks that surrounded their pupils, at the worry that slightly furrowed their brows, at the sincerity that seemed to irradiate from their whole being… and she sighed.

The red water pouring from the sky was starting to soak through the fabric of her shoes. A metaphorical hammer was pounding against her skull as if it was a bell.

"To hell with it," she muttered, then louder: "Okay."

The probably-human smiled. The world turned instantly brighter.

* * *

“I’m Melpass, by the way,” the humain said, as they opened the door to a quaint, slanted, two-story building, with dark green creepers worming themselves up the old-looking stones and a crooked balcony overflowing with colorful sheaves of various kinds that somehow managed to look simultaneously artful and wild. Corb hated that she thought so after having only known the human for twenty minutes at best, but the building fitted them.

“What’s your name?” the human - Melpass - pressed on. They were standing in the doorway, holding the door open.

“Corb,” Corb said, and followed Melpass inside.

The staircase was dark and the stairs tortuous, winding around an iron pillar that looked about ready to ply over the weight. The walls were dented, the floor uneven, and the paint scaled in some places. A large potted plant guarded the left side of a red wooden door, abundant foliage slightly gleaming under the feeble light shed from above by a lamp that was bolted to the wall, just over the casing of the door. It was a strange lamp. It looked more like an eye than a simple hallway lamp, with its almond shape and old-fashioned fabric fringe boarding the bottom half. Pretty ominous, as far as lamps went.

Melpass did not pay any attention to the lamp - the things force of habit can hide from you - and went directly for the door, prying it open with not only a key but also a good shove, before they invited Corb in. Corb followed with wariness, glaring at the cat resting in Melpass’ arms as they excused themself to lock him up in the bedroom.

In the flat, the floor was covered in hexagonal tiles roughly the size of one’s hand, soft to the touch. Potted plants, big and small, were in every corner, hanging from various places, sitting on bookshelves, on the floor, on the tables - there were nearly as many of them as there were books. The walls were all painted in different shades, Corb could tell as much, but none of them would regain its original coloris before Winter. Most of the furniture was wooden, and she could spy a carpet that looked very comfortable lying on the living room’s floor. Even in the turbulence of colors Fall always brought, the flat felt homely and peaceful.

“Here, take this.”

Melpass’ voice startled her. They had a towel hanging around their neck, and another one held out for her to take. Corb suddenly realized her hair was still wet, and so was everything else she was wearing. She took the towel, muttering a word of thank, and quickly removed her shoes.

“Do you want anything to drink?” Melpass called from the kitchen. “I have tea, coffee, mango juice, hot chocolate, and tap water.”

Corb frowned. A hot beverage would be nice, but… “Do you have any straws?”

“Oh, sure! I think so.”

“Hot chocolate, then.” She argued with herself, but reluctantly added: “Please.”

“No problem,” Melpass said, followed by the sound of utensils being handled. “You can go sit in the living room while it heats, it won’t take long. Put yourself at ease.”

 _Easier said than done_ , Corb thought, _I don’t know you._ She said nothing, and stepped into the living room with her shoes in hand. There were two small couches in the room, a pouffe, and a mattress pushed in a corner. A wide array of pillows peppered the room, less on the couches than the floor. The carpet she’d spied earlier was large, taking most of the room’s surface, and it felt even softer than it had looked. She took a few steps on it, relishing in the sensation of what appeared to be some kind of braided fabric (and not synthetic fur, as she’d first thought) under her feet. In this room too, plants and bookshelves competed for available space, though here the plants looked to be winning. Two wide windows allowed a generous amount of direct sunlight in, and Corb suspected they were the reasons for the superior amount of greenery. Hesitant, she walked to the middle of the room, and contemplated her options. After spending close to a full minute staring at the furniture, she sat on one of the couches and put her shoes next to it. She leaned back, sinking into the cushion, and immediately raised her hands to rub at her temples. In her pocket, her phone buzzed again. She ignored it.

“You alright?”

Corb opened her eyes to squint at Melpass. They were walking slowly toward her, careful not to spill either of the two cups they held, brows furrowed in a worried expression that did not, Corb decided, suit them. She mumbled an affirmation. The scratches on her arms itched terribly.

“Well, here you go,” Melpass said then, frown smoothed out, and handed Corb a steaming mug with a straw.

“Thanks.”

“It’s nothing.”

They smiled, and sat on the pouf opposite Corb. The string of a teabag dangled from the edge of their cup. A few seconds passed where Corb looked at anything but them.

“How much time does it even take you to water them?” she asked. The silence was starting to make her uncomfortable.

Melpass chuckled, a little surprised and a little amused. “Several hours, definitely. It makes for a good excuse to procrastinate.”

Corb snorted. She glanced down at her mug, caught the straw between the two sides of her bill, and tried the slightest sip. When that did not scald her tongue, she slurped a longer one. Melpass shot them a smile from over their own cup.

“May I ask what pronouns you use?”

Corb glanced at them, but quickly went to back to her drink.

“She and her.”

Melpass nodded. “Got it.”

“You?”

“Xe and xem,” xe said, smiling wider. Corb nodded, and went back to her drink.

When both of their cups had been emptied, Melpass took her to the bathroom. It was a small, cramped room, with a large sink and a round mirror, plants hanging on the walls, a tiny window, a cupboard topped with a wide array of things, and a shower. Corb stood awkwardly in the doorway as Melpass opened one of the cupboard’s drawers and fished out a first aid kit that she left on top of the cupboard, then turned toward her.

“We should clean the cuts first,” xe said, moving to the sink. Corb followed xem without a word. “Here.” Xe held out xeir hands over the sink, smiling softly, and Corb let xem wash her arms with water and soap. Melpass’ hands were gentle, careful not to ruffle the little feathers scattered on her arms, and the sensation was nicer than she wanted to admit. They stood so close, like this, that Corb felt the space between them was full - with glances, with fears, with breaths. Uneasy, though not enough to pull back, she distracted herself by counting Melpass’ eyelashes; she studied the ridge of xeir eagle nose, the slight slope of skin that led to the fuller, darker skin of xeir lips to the corner, where a single, dark mole stood out like an eye or a rose bud.

Melpass cutting the tap water woke her out of her contemplation with a start.

“Here, you can dry it with this”, xe said, and handed them a towel. Corb took it without looking up. “Are you okay? You look… a little flushed.”

“‘S nothing,” she mumbled. Melpass didn’t pry.

Xe took a cream out of the first aid kit - some kind of analgesic to soothe the itching down - and started massaging it into Corb’s arms with slow, circling movements. Corb very carefully did _not_ look at xeir face this time, but that meant she was left looking at xeir hands (surprisingly soft for being so callused) as they moved around her shredded skin, which she wasn’t sure was any better for her sanity. She tried remembering how _annoying_ and _bothersome_ she’d first thought this meddling human to be, but then Melpass said something about how pretty her feathers were, and xe looked so _sincere_ and _caring_ that it was all she could do not to instantly combust.

Damn xem. Damn xem and xeir smile and damn her own, weak, flustered gay heart. She wanted to go home. She wanted to _want_ to go home.

“There. It shouldn’t hurt as much, now,” Melpass said, but did not release Corb’s arms right away. “I can bandage it, if you want. It would prevent you from scratching at it too much, and it wouldn’t look as conspicuous as it does right now.”

Corb thought about the pointed looks and otherwise wary treatment a lot of people still gave her, and she took back her arms.

“Doubt I can attract any more attention than I already do.”

Melpass blinked at her, then winced. “Is it still that bad, after so much time?”

“Yeah, well. People are cruel,” she said, shrugging.

“Ignorant, more like,” Melpass said with a shake of xeir head. “I’m sorry you have to go through this.”

Corb clacked her bill shut and crossed her arms, irritated and restless. They were still standing with too little space between them, and she was growing more uncomfortable by the minute. Melpass must have noticed, somehow, because xe dropped whatever xe had meant to say and offered they go back to the living room instead; Corb shuffled after xem, eyes cast down and struggling to come up with a polite-enough excuse to leave. She needed to go home.

In her pocket, her phone buzzed. She stopped in her track, letting Melpass walk into the living room without her, and looked at the screen. The notifications said she had two unread message from Bel, and one from her boss.

“Corb? Is something wrong?”

She glanced up from the screen and right into Melpass’ open, brown eyes. She almost faltered.

“Ah, I, uh…” she started, but then Melpass took a step forward and she bolted right past xem into the living room, half stammering something about needing to work a shift to cover for someone at the bookstore where she worked, and started putting her shoes back on.

“Oh… Okay then,” Melpass said, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. “Well, it was nice meeting you.”

Xe offered a hand, and Corb took it. When xe did not recoil from her half-talons, half-fingers, Corb let herself linger a little too long.

“Thanks for being a decent human being,” she said, and hurried out the door before Melpass could finish saying “see you around”. Outside, the world was drenched with red. Pink clouds were drifting away in the sky, and the sun shone through with feeble evening rays that hit the ever-changing colors with nerve. Time stilled a little while.

Corb glanced down at her phone, and opened the message that read _Phoebe (Love & Glory) _. It was short.

**[From: Phoebe (Love & Glory)] Hi Corb, Alexandre can’t make it tomorrow. Can you fill in for him? His shift is right after yours, and it would help me a great deal.**

At least she could tell herself she hadn’t _really_ lied to Melpass. Just got the days mixed up.

She typed an answer, sent it, and went home.

* * *

A week later, Corb was shelving a delivery of Philosophy works when she glimpsed a wisp of pink hair. She stared at the spot where she’d seen it for a good second, dumbfounded, before she remembered that pink hair was not limited to just one person and went back to shelving. She was about halfway done when a familiar voice made her jump and drop the book she was holding.

“Corb! Good morning!” Melpass said from just a few steps away. Xe was beaming.

“...Hi.”

“How are you? Did your arms heal alright?”

“I’m fine. You?”

Corb crossed her arms and leaned on the bookshelves, scratching nervously at the scarred tissue around her bill. Melpass took a tentative step forward.

“I’m good,” she smiled. “I’ve been trying to run into you again, you left so abruptly last time… Were you able to make it to work?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled, looking down then up again. She had forgotten just how _charming_ Melpass was. “You’ve - You were looking for me?”

“Yes. I, uhm, wanted to know if you would perhaps want to hang out sometime? As in for a drink, or a walk, or… anything, really. You’re - that is, I’d really like to get to know you.”

Corb stared at xem, looking for something off. Something wrong. Something that would say _‘this is a trick’_ clearly, and offer her an excuse to flee. But no, there was nothing - Melpass was truly, authentically sincere. She looked down, and shuffled her feet.

“Okay,” she said after a short while, her grip on her own arms tightening. She could not believe this was actually happening. She wanted to run away, but then Melpass grinned at her and clapped xeir hands, and suddenly she didn’t anymore.

“Great!” xe said, and Corb snorted a little. They looked at each other, then, for a short moment. Corb was the first to break eye contact.

“So, uh, did you come here just to see me, or were you looking for a book?”

“Right, yes. I mean, I did come here to see you, but… I was hoping I could find this book I need for class, it should be in the Medicine section?”

Corb nodded, and retreated from the squirming of her guts into her Love & Glory worker’s persona. She knew how to do her job well enough - dealing with her own budding feelings towards a near-complete (albeit extremely attractive and kind) stranger... not so much. She walked to the Medicine section of the store, Melpass trailing behind her, and started to scan the shelves for the book Melpass was looking for. It shouldn’t be too difficult to spot…

“Corb? I was wondering… I mean, I hope you don’t mind me asking but…” Corb tensed, and kept her eyes firmly glued to the shelves. Nothing good ever followed that kind of wording. “Are you - I mean, do you have an... affiliation to crows?”

She turned to look at xem. The subject was what she had expected, but the tone and the phrasing… really weren’t. As she stared, completely silent, Melpass’ curious expression started to crumble.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend, it’s just that with your name, I thought…”

_Oh. Oh._

“It’s fine,” she said, raising a hand to stop xeir panicked rambling. “It’s what the name means, but it comes from a mistake.” She turned back to the shelves, no longer able to hold Melpass’ gaze. She didn’t mind telling xem - she just wasn’t that good with eye contact, especially not when combined with personal talk. “When the people at the orphanage found me they thought I was a crow, and because they had no time to spare to name me, they decided it’d be a good idea to shorten _corbeau_ to ‘Corb’. As it turns out, I’m actually part common blackbird. Crows don’t have yellow beaks,” she added, tapping lightly on her bill with the tip of her talon. “Ah - here’s your book. _Gut: The Inside Story of our Body’s Most Underrated Organ_.”

She pulled it out of the shelf to hand it to Melpass, but found xem staring at her with an odd look on xeir face instead. More uneasy than annoyed, she waved the book in front of xeir face to snap xem out of it. It worked - Melpass took xeir book with an apology and a word of thank. Corb told xem not to worry about it.

“It makes for a funny anecdote, though. The story of your name,” Melpass said once they’d gone back to the Philosophy section. Xe has insisted xe help Corb with the shelving, and Corb hadn’t had the heart to protest.

“Guess so.”

“Besides, you’ll probably never have to worry about someone having the same name as yours.” Corb snorted, and Melpass shot them a cheeky grin, continuing. “I can guarantee you, it sounds like nothing, but it’s a pain. Happens to me all the time, and I always end up with some kind of odd nickname.”

“Like what?”

“Well, Pink Hair has been a popular one ever since I dyed it, but in high school I was Big Nose or Doctor, and before that I was Flower. After high school and before I dyed my hair, though, I was The Hippy One.”

“Figures,” Corb said, cackling despite herself. Melpass poked their cheek as retaliation, so Corb booped xeir nose, Melpass booped her bill, and the next thing she knew they were both fighting to boop each other and giggling like idiots between the shelves. It didn’t take long before a customer wandered their way, though, which suddenly brought them back to earth; they froze, straightened, and hurried back to the forgotten cart full of books. When they were sure the customer was gone they shared a look, and snickered like little kids.

Corb felt giddy. Which was odd, because she never did. She felt awkward, anxious, angry, flustered maybe - but never _giddy_. It felt like her head was a hot-air balloon, but she didn’t mind it.

“Is working at Love & Glory your only occupation?” Melpass asked after they’d both calmed down.

“ _Icarus_ , no. I’m an IT student.”

“Really? That’s great!”

“It’s interesting.” She shrugged. “Er, what about you? Are you, like, specializing in anything?”

Melpass shook her head. “Not yet, but I’m aiming for either radiology, endocrinology, or gastroenterology. I haven’t decided yet.”

“Cool,” Corb said, because she didn’t know how else to respond to that. “Gastroenterology is about digestion, right? Is that why you wanted the book?”

“Yes, mostly! It was recommended to me by one of my teacher.”

“Cool,” she said, again, and resisted the urge to smash her head against the shelf.

They finished shelving the books quickly after that, chatting idly about nothing - well, Melpass did, anyway; Corb mostly hummed or offered short answers, though she did share a few stories of her own. They kept talking while Corb walked her to the checkout, and the cashier (Filod, a snake hybrid Corb sometimes had lunch with when she felt up to socializing - which, to be honest, was not very often) did not comment when Corb opted to just stand there while Melpass paid.

“So, uh, see you later?” she said, unsure what was appropriate.

“I could give you my number first, maybe?” Melpass said, and held out a hand, smiling. Because of course xe was.

Corb blushed, and promptly fished out her phone out of her pocket to give it to xem. When Melpass had successfully typed in xeir number xe gave it back, smiling sheepishly as xe made Corb promise to text xem soon.

“I’ll see you soon, then,” xe said, smile growing wider when Corb nodded. Melpass seemed to hesitate, then, too fast for Corb to really react, swiftly leaned forward to plant a small kiss on her cheek. Then xe grinned, cheeky and much to proud of xemself for such a small trick - and just like that, Corb knew she was done for.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Hopefully you enjoyed this - please let me know what you think!  
> I'm planning on writing other stories in the same universe as this one later. We'll see how it goes.  
> Have a lovely day!


End file.
